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| © Japan Committee for UNICEF |
[Tokyo, March 18, 2011]
Press Release
With some 500,000 evacuees still taking temporary shelter, the 2011 Tohoku-Kanto Earthquake has become a disasters of unparalleled global scale. In preparation of its support for the victims in disaster hit areas, the Japan Committee for UNICEF announced on March 18 a statement of principles for its support activities and details of immediate activities as follows.
As a member of the global UNICEF family, which supports the lives and healthy development of children, in cooperation with UNICEF headquarters, the Tokyo Office and partner organizations and corporations, the Japan Committee for UNICEF shall support the emergency relief and recovery efforts provided by the Japanese government, local governments, and local communities, including shelters in regions hit by the 2011 Tohoku-Kanto Earthquake, with a focus on support for children.
Based on the primary survey conducted in Miyagi Prefecture up to March 17, the following supplies will be arranged.
We will procure bottled water, disposable diapers, disposable body warmers, sanitary products, toilet paper and toys in Japan, and request “School in a Box” kits, recreation kits, and ECD kits (early childhood development kit, containing 37 different kinds of teaching materials and playthings designed for children under the age of six at different stages of development; each package contains supplies for about 50 children) from UNICEF’s main supply warehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Establish transportation:
We will secure transportation and distribution routes to and within disaster hit areas through partnerships with co-operatives and local citizens’ organizations which support UNICEF and which have established support (physical distribution) routes to shelters in disaster hit areas.
a) Dispatch of Japanese staff members from UNICEF
In response to the request from the Japan Committee for UNICEF, the UNICEF headquarters has decided to deploy two of their Japanese staff members from their posts in Somalia and Afghanistan (one from each country) and staff members from UNICEF Tokyo office to assist the Japan Committee. Additional dispatch of personnel is currently being arranged.
b) Support for prefectural subdivisions of the Japan Committee for UNICEF in disaster hit areas
To assist the coordination effort with partner organizations, including local communities in the Miyagi prefectural subdivision, the Japan Committee for UNICEF will send staff members from the Committee and a Japanese expert deployed from UNICEF Somalia Support Center to Miyagi Prefecture as early as this week. In addition, the Committee will implement similar support in Iwate, Fukushima, and Ibaraki Prefectures after an assessment of the situation there.